The morning sun filtered through the curtains, bathing the room in gold.
Lin Xinyi sat before her vanity, her fingers lightly brushing the youthful skin reflected in the mirror. She still couldn't get used to it—this chance to live again.
Her chest tightened as memories surged back. Today… today was the day Chen Yuze would come with flowers, pretending to be the perfect fiancé. In her past life, she had smiled foolishly, welcoming him. This time?
Her lips curved into a cold sneer.
Not again.
When the knock on her door came, she was ready.
"Xinyi, I came to see you," Chen Yuze's smooth voice floated in, warm and polished like always.
She opened the door only slightly, just enough for him to see her icy eyes.
"There's no need. We're done."
His charming smile faltered. "What do you mean? We're engaged, our families—"
"Engagements can be broken," she cut him off, her voice steady, sharp. "Go back to the woman you truly want. I won't be your pawn again."
His face darkened instantly, a flicker of shock flashing across his eyes. But before he could react, she closed the door in his face.
Her heart pounded, but a strange lightness filled her chest. For the first time, she had chosen differently.
---
Later that evening, she attended her father's business banquet—an event that had once set her on the path to ruin.
The hall sparkled with chandeliers, and powerful men and women mingled in their finest attire. But it wasn't the glittering crowd that stole her breath.
It was him.
A tall man in a black tailored suit stood at the center, his presence cold and untouchable. Sharp features, deep eyes that seemed to see through everything, and an aura that commanded absolute respect.
Mo Yichen.
The youngest self-made billionaire in the city. A man so ruthless in business that people whispered his name with both fear and awe.
In her past life, she had only seen him from afar. Their paths had never crossed. But tonight, as if fate itself was rewritten, his gaze lifted—and landed directly on her.
For a heartbeat, the noisy banquet faded into silence.
Their eyes locked.
And in that moment, Lin Xinyi's reborn heart whispered one thing:
He is the key to changing everything.